2.11.16

There are undoubtedly some areas of beauty that aren't as aspirational and enjoyable as others; whether that's filing down your dry heels, cleaning out your ears, covering up your greys or pushing back your cuticles, some tasks need doing but offer no pleasure in the process. Hair removal is firmly in that catageory. Although it's our individual choice whether to remove hair at all (if you want to embrace your fuzziness, then go for it!) it's certainly not a task that we collectively enjoy. Shaving, epilating and waxing can be laborious, but for the majority of us it's something that we just have to get on with. According to a recent survey*
conducted by Philips, women spend around £500 and fifteen
hours per year on hair removal - and the biggest frustration is the constant maintenance required;
it seems as soon as we’ve shaved, waxed, plucked or creamed away a
layer of fuzz another one appears straight after. Interestingly,
although women claim convenience and effectiveness of hair removal
products outweigh price, 77% are still using wet razors as their primary
hair removal method. Despite its long lasting results, IPL (Intense Pulse Light) remains much underused with only 4% of women currently using it.

Philips easy-to-use 'Lumea Prestige' system can prevent the reappearance of hair (on the face
as well as the body) via targeted gentle pulses of light in as little
as a few weeks; it's approximated that a 75% reduction can been
experienced in only four bi-weekly treatments, making it fast as well as
effective. Bringing the benefit of inconvenient salon treatments to the
comfort of your own home, the Philips Lumea Prestige device has been developed with the help
of leading dermatologists to ensure effectiveness and convenience in
one: it's cordless, features larger windows to target a larger surface
area with every pulse, plus you can glide it over skin and set it to
flash at regular intervals for a speedy treatment. (If you want to find out more about the device and how it works, read my previous post here.) Over the last twelve weeks, three LBQ readers have been putting this device to the test to see what results they could see themselves. Initially their universal concerns were understandably based around the effectiveness and cost of the initial outlay; none of them had had experience with IPL, nor had they any friends or family to call on for their thoughts. All three went into the three month trial with the main objective being to reduce the frequency they would have to reach for a razor - and this is how they got on.

WHAT ARE YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF THE LUMEA? "There's been absolutely nothing that I've disliked about the Lumea. Initially I thought it would be quite time consuming to do the treatments, but was amazed when it only took me a matter of minutes to do both of my legs. I love that it's rechargeable and doesn't require being constantly plugged into a power source; we're very low on plug sockets in our house so it was great to be able to do the treatments wherever I wanted without having to plug it in."

"I love the look and feel of the unit; I also love that I can do this at home. It’s a pain to get to professional appointments so this is ideal for me. I was concerned about the time it would take to treat the areas required but it hardly takes any time at all, especially when you consider the time it would take to get to a salon."

"I liked the fact that you only have to use it once every two weeks (and then even less than that), as this is far less often than shaving. I also like the fact that I can do it from the comfort of my home, whilst watching the TV - something that isn’t possible with other hair removal techniques! Additionally, I haven’t had any reaction to using the device and I have very sensitive skin so was cautious. It's also completely pain free for me, which is brilliant."

WHAT KIND OF RESULTS HAVE YOU SEEN WITH THE LUMEA?

"I've seen the best results on my legs, where I now hardly ever need to shave and only have to do a little 'top-up' shave every week. The hair seems to grow back finer and softer, so it's much less noticeable than it used to be."

"I have definitely seen an improvement in the texture of hair and rate of growth. I am still not at a stage whereby I can go without shaving, although I have gone from shaving every day to every other day. I also am going to continue carrying on using the device because I think that perhaps, due to my skin tone and hair colour, it may just the device longer than others to reduce the texture of hair and rate of growth enough to stop shaving."

"I love that the hair on my legs, underarm, bikini and lip are vastly reduced. It sucks being hairy and pale! I am a little disappointed that it has taken so long and I'm not all the way there yet, but I do wonder if I was being a little conservative with the light setting. It has met my expectations as I'm very happy to have reduced my hair growth and feel that I will get to the point of a maintenance schedule soon."

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS TO A FRIEND?

"Yes! I've already had friends asking about it and interested in the results. I can't say I'm a big fan of baring my legs, but I have been willingly and my friends are impressed with the results too."

"I already have! My mum and sister are now desperate for their own Philips Lumea. My sister has quite dark hair, which is very noticeable even a few hours after shaving, so I feel she would benefit from using it. I'm really happy with the results and will be telling all my friends - I'm currently trying to convert one who is a religious waxer." "I would recommend this device to a friend, although I would warn them it may take them longer than 12 weeks to see the improvement they desire."

DO YOU THINK THE PHILIPS LUMEA OFFERS VALUE FOR MONEY?

"Yes I think so. I wouldn't have thought about spending so much as the initial outlay is high, but I do think that it's worth it now that I've seen the results. Imagine how much money you could save over the years! Not only on the treatments themselves but the time and money that goes into an appointment, which is a problem when you live away from a town as I do."

"I think that for some people this definitely would offer value for money. At the moment, I've not seen enough of an improvement in the texture of hair and rate of growth to say it would have offered value for money for me personally - vs in-salon treatments or bi-weekly hair removal methods. But I'm keeping with it!"

"Definitely. The salon I usually go to charges £30 for legs, bikini and underarm waxing. Having this done every four weeks over the course of a year costs more than it would to purchase the Lumea; the benefit of the Lumea is that you don't have to continue paying for treatments – once you've bought it you can keep treating yourself free of charge! I also think it's much more convenient than going to a salon as you can use the Lumea whenever you have a spare half and hour, rather than having to book appointments in advance, which adds to its value for money."

Overall my testers have seen results they're pleased with, they would recommend the device to a friend and most importantly they feel the Philips Lumea offers good value for money. It's important to understand this isn't an impulse purchase or a quick solution to your hair woes - it's something that you need to ensure is right for you, it's essential you invest the time required to get results and it's important to understand that you won't be absolutely hair free in only a couple of months. This is perfect for those of you that spend far too much time removing unwanted fuzz, but don't have the time or money to justify frequent professional visits; the Philips Lumea provides a more cost effective way of achieving results from the comfort of your own home whilst even being suitable for sensitive skin. It's an investment, but a wise one if your unwanted hair has an impact on your self confidence and the freedom you have to go about your day.

If you're convinced that the Lumea could be for you, then Philips are offering LBQ readers a very special offer; up to 40% off the device (SC2006) when purchased from the Philips store here. Use this code at checkout: LBQDEAL (Valid from: 1st November - 16th November 2016, inclusive)

Have you ever considered IPL hair removal? What are the barriers for you, or what has stopped you in the past?

Find out more about the Philips Lumea Prestige IPL hair removal device on their website. The model featured retails at £450.00 full price.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Philips; all opinions are my own.

9 comments

not cheap but paying for waxes, buying razors and whatever else we use sure adds up. I'd love to give this a try and see how it works on me! At the moment I shave every other day, would love to be able to shave once a week only!Pam xo/ Pam Scalfi♥

I have the Philips Lumea and I love it! I wouldn't say it takes a matter of minutes to do my legs though, each one is probably 10 to 15 mins to do them thoroughly. Underarms are literally 1 min tops each though. I wouldn't be without mine!